Photo courtesy Floyduk, Flickr

It isn’t a common occurrence, but if you live in certain part of the U.S. it does happen.  During the night in west Texas and Illinois, power plants that produce energy from the wind sometimes generate more electricity than their customers can use.  The result?  Well, if the power plants shut those turbines down they would lose the 2.1 cents per kilowatt hour tax credit for generating electricity, so shutting down isn’t an option.  Instead the customers are paid to use the electricity, which works as long as the customers are paid less than the power companies receive as a subsidy.  Essentially the power companies receive taxpayer money for generating energy from renewable sources which they then pass a portion of back to the taxpayers.

Operating at a negative isn’t feasible for extended periods of time.  After all, think of how much energy the average American household would use if they were being paid to use it!  Wind power companies are investigating different ways to harness and store wind energy as  compressed air that can be released during times of peak demand, or when the wind isn’t blowing.  Click here to read more about the storage process and the companies involved.

Green Buttercups.  I get people asking all the time what the story is about our name?  Yes, it’s true that most of the web names that contain “green” have been taken, and the ones that remain are sad, sad choices. But not buttercups. Buttercups are happy.  They’re the first indication of spring, that beautiful time of year when the temperatures start to warm, we shed our winter clothes and embrace nature waking up all around us.  They’re happy little flowers on strong green stems that remind us that we too can push through the frozen mud to a fresh new world. They aren’t earth changing.  They’re just buttercups.  And that’s what we’re going to spread.  Tiny little bits of information about people who are changing the world, one buttercup at a time.  Green Buttercups.

Packing a lunch every day is a great way to save time and money and it lets you tote along healthy food choices.  But think about how many plastic bags are thrown away every day and what that does to the environment.  Fresh Snack Pack makes a reusable plastic bag that is smart, easy to clean, and made from PVC free EVA plastic.  You can fill it up and take it with you over and over again.  The envelope style pouch opens up with a tab to make food inside easy to get to, or you can fold it open flat and use the inside as a placemat.  It’s a great solution to an everyday dilemma.  Visit the site at www.freshsnackpack.com for more information.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those plastic bottles you put in the recycling bin?  Playback Clothing collects them, sorts them by color, and turns them into beautiful wearable T-shirts and sweatshirts!  Each T-shirt upcycles about 8.5 plastic bottles and 1/3 pound of textile scraps.  The colors of the garments come from the bottle colors so no dyes are necessary.  Most of the products are made from 100% recycled materials, and nothing the company manufactures is less than 70%. 

Visit www.playbackclothing.com to view more information about the product line and shop the store.

 You fill up a recycling bin each week and cart it to the curb.   You bring your own cloth bags to the grocery store and skip the plastic ones.  But when it comes to the really messy stuff, like cleaning up a pet accident or lining the kitchen trash can are you still using plastic bags?  Most people are, and the stuff you put in those bags will stay around in landfills a very long time unless you use a BioBag.

Bio Bags are the world’s largest brand of  100% biodegradable and 100% compostable bags.  And the variety of bags produced insures there is a solution for every type of waste collection.  The tall kitchen bags fit in most trash cans and can be used for any type of trash.  For food scraps the 3 gallon bags can be used for fresh fruit and vegetable storage in the refrigerator where their breathable composition keeps food fresher longer, as well as the compost pail.  Don’t like messy, stinky compost pails under the sink?  The company also manufactures a Max Air bucket for use with the 3 gallon bags.  Since the bags breathe (without leaking) they allow food scraps inside to dry and they inhibit bacteria growth, which in turn controls smells. 

Cleaning up after our furry friends just got easier with Bio Bags for Dog Waste.  Many parks and recreation areas are already using this system, as it allows waste to go into a compost pile or be buried in the ground where the bag will decompose in as little as 10 days.  Bio degradable cat pan liners are also available.

For more information visit the Bio Bag site at www.biogroupusa.com.

Photo courtesy Dreamstime.com

Fall is finally in the air and we are  ready for it.  It’s time for brilliantly colored leaves, the smell of hot apple cider and fresh pumpkin pie, and . . . pvc halloween costumes?

Halloween is a major industry, with consumer spending reaching almost $6 billion US dollars.  What was once a Celtic tradition known as Samhain is now one of our largest consumer holidays.  But what impact does that have on our environment?  The carbon footprint alone is tremendous.

Did you know that most Halloween costumes and masks are petroleum based?  Store bought costumes are, on average, used once and discarded.  Since they’re not recyclable they end up in the landfill, along with all the plastic wrappers on the gobs of packaged candy given out to trick-or-treaters.  Same with most of the bags and plastic pails that kids use to collect the candy. 

Want to make this Halloween a little greener?  Skip the store-bought costumes and get creative with materials you have at home.   That carved pumpkin that is sitting on your front porch is great for the compost pile, as opposed to the landfill where they take up valuable space and release greenhouse gases as they decompose.  And what about all that individually wrapped candy?  Sure we have to be concerned about safety, but there are so many products available that are made with organic ingredients and come in recyclable packaging — many of which are actually nutritious as well.   Kids love candy, but they also love treasures like soy crayons, polished stones, playing cards, craft items, trinkets, recycled pencils, etc.  And don’t forget the candy bags.  There’s  always the tried and true pillowcase, or if you’re feeling a little more creative you can make bags and appliques from old clothes, sheets, towels, even old Halloween costumes.  With a little imagination you can create some Halloween magic that won’t hurt Mother Earth.   Green Halloween.org is a great source for environmentally friendly costume ideas and other green tips.

photo courtesy Blicker Design, www.blicker.wordpress.com

Isn’t it about time someone decided to build a better doghouse for our best friends?  We think Blicker Design is onto something.  On their website you can view 4 potential designs of various styles.  Each style is unique and has a lot of potential in terms of finish.  The best part?  Blicker wants your opinions on what the doghouses should be made of.  So visit the site, give them your opinions, and let’s see what they come up with.  We can’t wait to see the results.  Buttercups to you Blicker.

When you think of places that are making great strides forward in utilization of renewable energy, Maui isn’t necessarily one of them.  But it should be. 

Right now Maui produces just over 15% of its energy needs from renewable sources.  Wind farms capture the South Pacific breezes and turn them into energy, while the left over product from sugar cane, bagasse, has been used by Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company to power steam generators since the early 1900s.  But is 95% renewable a realistic goal?   Absolutely.  Maui has great natural resources that, with efficient utilization, can provide an enormous amount of power.  Abundant sunshine and good winds make solar photovoltaic panels and wind farms viable.  By the end of this year Maui’s new wave platforms should be operational.  These platforms, located off the north shore, were built by Oceanlinx Limited, an Australian company, and are designed to operate by wave energy that displaces air and pushes a turbine located inside.  New wind farms are being built at various locations on the island to capture winds that blow from different directions seasonally. 

 A new biodiesel plant is under construction that will be one of the largest on the island.  Texas and Arizona developer BlueEarth Biofuels, is expected to produce 40 million gallons per year of biodiesel, eventually operating entirely from Hawaiian grown feed stock. 

One of the greatest, largely untapped, sources for renewable energy on the island is geothermal.  Utilizing this resource necessitates great care as it is an issue with tremendous cultural sensitivity. Volcanic areas hold spiritual significance for many indigenous Hawaiians who view excavation and construction in these areas as a desecration of the land.  Geothermal is a desirable energy source as the power supply doesn’t fluctuate like other sources, i.e. solar and wind that depend on sunshine and steady breezes.

The Renewable Resource Development Group has also recommended lifting the current cap on energy from solar installations that can be pumped back into the grid.  Lifting the cap would provide incentives for both homeowners and businesses to install additional PV panels, which would reduce the demand off the main power grid.  Maui is already one of the first places to require a solar hot water heater to be installed in every new home.  Arizona is also set to start mandating similar systems.  Building permits will not be issued to homes in Arizona unless they will be equipped with a solar hot water heater, starting in 2010.

Manufacturers are making it easier than ever to find environmentally friendly products to construct buildings with.  But are owners and builders responding?  The overwhelming answer is “yes”.

In 2005 green building accounted for only 2% of the construction market.  Now, based on current statistics and purchasing trends green building is set to represent 25% of all construction by 2013, and 20% of all new residential construction.  Currently green building is a $93 billion industry.  By 2013, according to McGraw Hill, the green building sector will be at $140 billion.

Implementation of LEED building standards has been a huge motivational force for the construction industry, as many building owners and operators expect their facilities to be certified.  Large corporations want buildings that correlate with the environmental responsibility aspects of their companies.  As for the typical American residence, building trends are starting to change.  In June of this year LEED for Homes was introduced, for the first time providing a set of guidelines geared toward residential construction.  The Energy Star certification for house plans and completed residences represents another credential that builders want to make sure their homes comply with.  The labels are nice, but what this really means to consumers is that repsonsible, environmentally friendly, energy-efficient buildings are becoming a reality.  That’s good news for everyone.

Leave it to Google.  In 2007 the company announced its plans to focus on advancing solar technology to make it more affordable.  It looks like they are close to a breakthrough.  Among other things, Google has been working on solar plants that use solar energy to run steam turbines.  Their research is centered around mirrors that take the suns rays and reflect them onto a surface that heats up and produces steam to run a turbine.  The internet giant is also working on gas turbines that run on solar energy instead of gas. 

Google’s goal is to make serious advancements in the technology that will finally make solar power cheaper to produce than coal.  You can ready more about the philanthropic side of Google at www.google.org.